Letter to Task Force Commander: Visit to Latvia

27 October 2022

 

Colonel Vince Kirstein 
Commanding Officer 
Task Force Latvia 
TFL HQ
Riga, Latvia
LV-1006

 

Dear Colonel Kirstein,

I would like to personally thank you, Captain Frank Beaulieu, and Corporal Robert Kingerski for the hospitality offered during our visit to Latvia. The latter two members were particularly adept at overcoming logistical challenges that arose due to operational commitments, allowing our visit and brief to members at Camp Adazi to proceed seamlessly. They also provided great insight into places of interest and a flavour of how it is to work and live in Latvia. 

I am writing to follow-up on our visit with members from both your Task Force and members deployed on OPERATION REASSURANCE from 5 to 7 October 2022. During this visit we were pleased to meet with, and listen to concerns and positive feedback from personnel and their families, who are both posted and on deployment in the area. We were also thrilled to receive a detailed tour of Camp Adazi, which included a static display of some mobile support equipment. It was our first opportunity to visit deployed troops and it provided us with valuable information about working and living in Latvia, including the specific challenges associated with such a posting or deployment. 

The purpose of this letter is to highlight some of the concerns and positive feedback that we heard during our visit. I am hopeful that raising these issues, which may be familiar to you and your staff, will foster a collaborative spirit that will lead to enduring and positive change to members of the CAF and the Defence community. We are certainly ready to assist in any of the matters detailed below.

Taxation Inequity and Allowances concerns

During our visit several concerns were raised about perceived imbalances with regards to taxation, and how these are administered differently for personnel who are posted to Latvia vice those who are deployed. Some of these taxation anomalies were either under Latvian domain (such as VAT) or under Canadian Law. Note that many such issues were identified during our systemic report Engaged in the World: A systemic investigation into the administration of postings, assignments and employments of Defence Team personnel outside of Canada (OUTCAN) that was released in 2020. I agreed to consider these inconsistencies and remain committed to following-up on the recommendations of the report, which made 13 evidence-based recommendations that, if accepted and implemented, would bring positive change to all who are posted outside of Canada.     

There were also certain allowance benefits identified by your members as being improperly managed or updated, which reportedly cause undue hardship or are viewed as unfair. I vowed to analyze each of these cases separately, once more information was received, and I am pleased to report that some of the concerns have started to make their way to our office for consideration. 

Family and Relocation concerns

During several of our Q/A sessions concerns regarding challenges in securing spousal/dependent employment were raised, thereby placing the family in a one-income situation. Some examples cited included the following:  

• An inability to work on base in any capacity; 
• PSP rules that allegedly prohibit spouses from being employed at the CANEX;
• Being ineligible for certain GoC positions due to residing OUTCAN; and
• Challenges for a CAF applicant to be recruited and/or processed whilst their family is posted OUTCAN.

While not solely attributable to personnel OUTCAN or in Latvia, we also received several concerns regarding delays receiving HG&E and alleged misinformation received from BGRS representatives when it came to relocation benefits. Shipping delays and the inflated cost of shipping containers offer challenges that we have raised informally with DCBA and DRBM in 2021. With regards to specific complaints about a relocation, we encourage our constituents to contact the Relocation group (via their Relocation coordinator, as applicable) so that these can be monitored and addressed in the future awarding of contracts. 

Conflict Resolution

A member of the deployed staff raised a concern that there was no in-house conflict resolution resources available to members in Latvia. I vowed that I would follow-up with CJOC and ICCM regarding this perceived deficiency to ascertain what, if anything, could be done to address this. I have heard informally that these services can be made available.

I also wish to highlight that we were advised by a Latvian official that the Canadian contingent is held in particularly high regard in their country, which we believe speaks to the dedication and professionalism shown by all CAF members posted or deployed to Latvia. 

In closing, I would like again to thank you for enabling our outreach engagement to Latvia. It personally allowed me to understand the conditions that some CAF deployed personnel experience and provided me with an opportunity to both pass the message that our office exists in the interest of the welfare of CAF/DND members, and to increase awareness of our office to a broader audience. This outreach effort clearly showed me the professionalism of your personnel, and that the CAF remains positively engaged in the world.  

Sincerely,

 

Gregory A. Lick
Ombudsman

c.c:  
Brigadier-General Jean-François Cauden 
Deputy Commander Manoeuvre – Multinational Division North